What ELECT Does When You Vote

Secure elections start with maintaining accurate and up-to-date voter lists which allow only eligible voters to receive and cast a ballot.

ELECT’S voter list maintenance process has been recognized by the U.S. Congress. Virginia has served as a model for other states to deploy.

Before being issued a paper ballot, in-person early voters and Election Day voters are greeted by officers of election who use the voter-provided identification to screen the voter against the list of eligible registered voters.

Once the ballot has been completed, volunteers will then make sure the voter inserts the paper ballot into a ballot scanning machine which records the vote.

If for some reason a voter’s name does not appear on the list, a voter can complete a same-day registration form and cast a provisional ballot. (After being delivered back to the registrar’s office, their registration will be processed to ensure the voter is eligible to be registered and vote in that polling place, and their ballot will be considered by the Electoral Board during the provisional ballot meeting following Election Day.)

The voter record of every Virginian who requests an absentee ballot will be marked with when the absentee ballot request is made, when the ballot is sent and when the ballot is received back marked by the voter. Ballots voted by mail are pre-processed when they arrive back at the registrar’s office, but results are not reported until after the close of polls on Election Day. This ensures that mail ballot results can be reported as quickly as possible on election night.

Ballots received by mail must be postmarked on or before Election Day and be received by noon on the third day following the election.

Once a voter casts a ballot early in person, by mail, or on Election Day, their voter record is marked as having voted to ensure that each registered voter only casts one ballot during an election cycle.

In Virginia, it is against the law to connect a ballot scanning machine to the Internet.

Ballot scanning machines are certified to meet both state and federal standards and are maintained under a controlled chain of custody. Ballot scanners are tested using a predetermined sample of votes to ensure they are tallied accurately before any actual votes are cast.

Because Virginia has optical scan machines, a paper ballot exists for every vote cast.  Following the election, paper ballots are stored by the Circuit Court Clerk of each locality in case they are needed for a recount.

Please remember election night returns are not official until they are certified.

Election officials work to ensure voters with mental and physical disabilities can vote with independence and privacy.

Absentee ballots and drop off ballot locations provide accessibility to voters with disabilities. There is at least one ballot marking device accessible to voters with disabilities at each polling place. In addition, election officials at every polling location also provide curbside voting services so that voters with a disability or voters over age 65 can remain in their vehicle while casting their ballot.  Officers of election are also available to assist voters if needed.

All Virginia polling places—including polling locations where early voting takes place—meet state and federal accessibility standards, which means you will find:

• Accessible parking spaces
• Signs showing an accessible entrance and route into the building
• An accessible voting booth with a chair
• Seating available for voters waiting to vote
• Sufficient space for voters in wheelchairs
• Onsite assistance (such as notepads available to communicate in writing, magnifiers for ballots, and election materials) for voters with speech, hearing, and visual impairments who want to vote in person

Further, ELECT complies with state and federal compliance requirements to provide translated materials for non-native English-speaking voters.